Afflicted

Bite your tongue for saying that the long-thought dead "Found Footage" horror genre can't churn out a decent flick. Look no further than "Afflicted," the Canadian film that won three awards at the Fantastic Fest Horror festival in 2013.

Derek and Clif are two best friends that form a pact to travel the world in the span of a year. Kicking off their trip in their home country of Canada, Clif films the duo's every move, especially set-up with the typical shaky-cam syndrome in the movie's first half hour.

Things get going after Derek picks up a desirable woman in Paris and is discovered bleeding the next morning. Derek suddenly has super-powers; he can leap high, crush rocks, and lift cars. He also has a strong taste for blood and after many experiments and deductions, the friends come to the startling conclusion that Derek has turned into a vampire.

I'll say no more about the plot but the ingenious thing about "Afflicted" is that the directors and writers (Derek Lee and Clif Prowse) are actually playing themselves. This fun, fast-paced, and gory-as-all-hell horror film should be purchased for the feature film alone.

Blu-ray special features are another story; with the exception of the featurette titled "Anatomy of a Scene: The Window Jump," none of the bonus material is worth your time. Deleted scenes would've only mired down the film's quick running time and the "Behind the Scenes of Afflicted" doesn't offer up enough information on how the film was made.

Ken Tasho is a Corporate Drone by day and Edge Contributor by night. He has a love for all things ’80’s and resides in the Wayland Square area of Providence, RI...but would much rather be sharing an apartment in NYC with ’80’s rock goddesses Pat Benatar and Deborah Harry.